Gas-lamp.



No. 629,839. Patented Aug. I, \899.

A; WINCH. 'sAs LAMP. (Applicatiou flled Dec. 9, 169 5.)

:No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEN W INOH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GAS-LAMP.

SPEClIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,839, dated August 1, 1899.

Application filed December 9, 1898. Serial hi0. 698,737. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: Be it known that I, ALLEN WINCH, of Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi nois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in portable lamps for generating and burning acetylene or other gas, and more particularly in that type of such lamps in which the gas is generated by the action of the water which is allowed to drip from an upper water-chamber upon calcic carbid contained in a generating-chamber beneath.

Among the principal features of the invention are improvements in the valve mechanism which controls the dripping water from the water-chamber upon the carbid within the generating-chamber, improvements in the method of holding the carbid within the generating-chamber, improvements in the safety device for carrying ofi any excess of gas generated beyond a safe limiting pressure, and improvements in the general form and convenient arrangement of the lamp as a whole. i

The invention consists in the matters herein described, and more particularly pointed out. in the appended claims, and will be fully understood from the following detailed descrip-' tion of the construction illustrated in the ac is unscrewed, so as to separate these surfaces.

companying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a sectional elevation of a lamp embodying my invention in one form.

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail taken on line 2 2;

of Fig. 1.

In said drawings, A designates the lower section or generating-chamber of the lampcasing, and Bits upper or water-chamber secvalve-block G, whichis drilled through or perforated at c to afford a communicating channel between the water and generating its seat iuthe block 0 through an aperture b, with which the valve-stem has a screwthread engagement. As herein shown, the lower end of the valve-stem is tapered and the bore c correspondingly shaped, so that the stem comes into its seat very gradually as it is screwed into the aperture b, and thus enables the flow of water through said bore to be governed with great nicety or to be cut off altogether by a joint of such length as to o'fl'fer little liability of leakage. In addition to the regulation thus afiorded by the valve-stem D the maximum flow of water upon -the carbid is limited by a cap 0', which screws over the downwardly-proj ecting lower end of the block 0 and is provided with a perforation or discharge-opening c. This perforation does not register with the hole 6 in said block, but is somewhat separated therefrom, the block and and cap are made to fit closely together when the cap is screwed on tight, and the flow of water between the holes 0 and 0 will thus obviously depend upon the extent which the cap In practice the cap will be so adjusted that even if the valve-stem D is entirely withdrawn the amount of water which will drip through the hole 0' will not be sufficient to flood the generating-chamber or greatly exceed the amount required to generate the full volume .of gas which can be consumed by the burner, and when this adjustment is effected it will not ordinarily need to be disturbed, regulation within the limits set by this adjustment of the cap being accomplished by means of The upper portion of the perforathe valve-stem D. In the approvedconstrucin this construction as a filling-orifice for the water-chamber, and the latter is vented by means of a passage (1, which extends axially of the stem D from the outer end of the latter to a point within the water-chamber above the normal water-level therein and is open at both ends, so as to afford free communication between the water-chamber and outer air. Any suitable thumb-piece D may be provided on the outer end of the valve-stem to enable the latter to be readily manipulated.

The improved safety device herein shown is of that class in which any excess of gas gen erated beyond the amount necessary to supply the main burner at a predetermined maximum pressure is blown off or discharged through an auxiliary burner arranged in such close proximity to the main burner that the gas issuing from it will at once he ignited by the flame of the main burner and thereafter continue to burn as long as the generation remains excessive. In the present construction this device comprises an upper chamber F, from the upper portion of which a passage f leads to the auxiliary burner F and which is in open communication with a lower chamber or cup F through a depending tubef, that opens into the chamber F near the bottom of the latter. This cup or chamber F is in free communication through its upper end with the generating-chamber and receives the full pressure of the generating gas. Water is poured into it before the lamp is put in service, and under the pressure of the gas this water will be forced up in the tube f to a greater or less degree, in accordance with the amount of the pressure, the water-level in the cup itself being correspondii'igly depressed. If the pressure becomes great enough to depress the water-level in the cup below its point of communication with the tube f, the gas will begin to escape through the latter and pass out through the auxiliary burner F to be ignited and consumed at the mouth of the latter. The upper chamber F in this case will receive the excess of water forced up through the tube f, and its upper portion will act as a gathering-chamber, within which the gas will be collected as it bubbles up through the water and before it passes to the auxiliary burner. The limiting or maxim um pressure allowed by the construction shown may obviously be regulated by varying the quantity of water supplied to the lower chamber or cup F In practice I have found that with the proportions shown in the drawings the best results are obtained when the chamber F is filled about half full; but this practice will obviously vary largely with the particular portioning of parts provided in each case and with the particular service intended.

In the approved construction shown the chambers F and F are located within an eccentric-aperture or passage B, extending up through the water-chamber B. The chamber F is shown as rigidly secured in posit-ion in the upper portion of this passage B, with the tube f rigidly connected to it and serving to support the lower chamber or cup F As herein shown, the lower end of said pipe is screw-threaded,and a correspondingly-screwthreaded socket is provided centrally in the inner side of the bottom of the cup F so that the latter may be removably secured in place after being properly supplied with water bypassing it up over the tube f and screwing it upon the latter. Aholef ,extending laterally through the wall of the tube f, near the bottom of the cup F serves in this case to afford the open communication between said tube, and communication between the cup F and the generating-chamber is shown as afforded through a small recess f swaged out in one side of the mouth of the cup, which otherwise fits closely over the tube f and beneath the upper chamber F. The opening thus provided while sufficient to admit the gas freely is so relatively small and centrally located that even if the lamp is tipped over there will ordinarily be no leakage of the water in the chamber F Otherwise the size and character of the opening are immaterial so long as it furnishes free communication between the chamber 15 and the generating-chamber. It will be noticed and understood thatin the approved construction shown the Water provided in the chamber 1 to constitute the water seal for the safety blow-off is entirely independent of and unconnected in any way with the water-supply in the chamber B by which the carbid is hydrated and cannot be in any way affected by the head or quantity of said main watersupply. In fact, it is found in practice that there is little tendency for the water in this device to change in quantity either from evaporation or from any other cause, and when said chamber is once filled to the desired extentit will not ordinarily require to be refilled or otherwise cared for during any reasonable period unless it is desired to change the maximum pressure at which the gas will blow off through the auxiliary burner.

The calcic carbid or other gas-prod uci n g material may be supplied to the generatingchamber A in' any desired form-in bulk or in cartridges made up with a suitable mastic for bindingit together and reducing the activity or suddenness of gas generation; but as a further improvement I have herein shown it as supplied in a bag A, of suitable fabric or cloth, the fibers of which will possess a capillary action tending to distribute and grad ually apply the moisture supplied. Said bag is preferably closed at its mouth by an inserted loop of wire (1 and if the lamp is to be used upon a vehicle or in any situation where it is liable to be jolted or shaken the bag may be secured in place by one or more hooks a or equivalent fastening devices.

In practice the lamp will ordinarily be charged just previous to using, and the fabric bag orsack will desirably be saturated and then wrung out, so that it will be damp when filled with carbid. Then when the charge is water drops upon the sack it will, moreover,

be gradually distributed by the capillary action of the fabric and react upon a large area of the carbid instead of being confined to a greater or less extent to a restricted space immediately beneath the inlet,the effect in practice being a more steady and even generation of acetylene gas. A further advantage of supplying the carbid in a bag or sack in this manner lies in the cleanliness with which the lamp can be handled, the lime or residuum after the carbid is exhausted being removed en masse by simply unhooking and removing the sack,from whichit may be readily emptied at the same time or later, as desired, a plurality of the sacks being kept on hand Where it is designed to facilitate the recharging operation.

Any suitable burner E may be used in connection with a lamp thus constructed. As

herein shown, it consists of an ordinary tip' inserted in the upper end of a burner-tube E, which is screwed over the nipplee of a centrally-located hollow boss E on the top of the water-chamber, the interior of said boss, and consequently the burner, being in communication with the generating-chamber through an aperture e, which communicates with the passage B. It will, however, be understood that these details constitute in themselves no part of the present invention and may be of any other construction suitable for the purpose. It will also be understood that the features of improvement specially men tioned may be widely varied in detail without involving any departure from the broad invention claimed.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a generatingchamber, means for supplying water to said chamber, and a main burner for the generated gas, of a safety device comprising a chamber or cup opening into the generatingchamber at its upper end and closed at its lower end, anormally water-sealed tube leading upwardly from the lower part of said cup,

an upper chamber-into which said tube opens at its upper end, and a passage leading from the upper portion of said upper chamber to an auxiliary burner located in proximity to the main burner, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a generatingchamber, means for supplying water to said chamber, and a main burner for the generated gas, of a safety device comprising an upper chamber, a passage leading from the upper portion of said chamber to an auxiliary burner located in proximity to the main burner, a tube depending from said upper chamber, a lower chamber or cup inclosing said tube and detachably secured thereto, said tube being in open communication with said cup in the bottom of the latter and said cup being in communication with the generating-chamber at its upper end, substantially as described.

3. An acetylene-gas lamp comprising the lower generating-chamber A and upper water-chamber B detachably secured to said generating-chamber by the sealed joint a,- means for controlling the admission of water from the water-chamber to the generatingchamber, the open recess B leading upwardly from the generating-chamber through the waterchamber, main burner E for the generated gas, and a safety device comprising the upper chamber F secured in the upper portion of the recess B, auxiliary burner F leading out of said chamber F and located in prox= imity to the main burner, tube f pending from the chamber F, lower chamber or cup F inclosing said tube and screwing upon the threaded lower end of the latter, aperture f affording open communication between the tube and cup near the bottom of the latter, the upper end or mouth of the cup being closed in about the tube to closely embrace the latterbut leaving a free passage for the gas, substantially as described.

4:. The combination with a generatingchamber and superposed water-chamber, of a valve-block depending through the bottom of the water-chamber, an aperture extending through said valve-block, a valve-stem adjustably closing said aperture, and an apertured cap adjustably inclosing the depending lower end of the valve-block, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a generatingchamber and superposed water-chamber of a valve-block projecting through the bottom of said water-chamber, an aperture extending through said valve-block, a valve-stem adj ustably closing said aperture, a cap having a screw-threaded engagement with the projecting lower end of the valve-block, said cap and block having closely-fitting contacting surfaces, and an outlet-aperture at the apex of the cap apart from the aperture through the block, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature hereto, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 7th day of December, 1898.

ALLEN WINCH.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY W. CARTER, M. E. MAnsn. 

